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Max Verstappen had a strong chance of having DNF'd at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP if Red Bull boss Christian Horner is to be believed.
Speaking to the media post-race, Horner revealed that a part of Verstappen's car broke during qualifying, compromising the driver. The Briton, however, claimed that it was fortunate that it happened during qualifying as otherwise, it would surely have happened when Verstappen was on his way to the grid come race day.
According to the Red Bull boss, his team replaced the power unit on both cars upon discovering the issue. This helped them preempt any other potential failure that the cars could have faced.
Horner said:
“We changed the power unit because there was a part that broke on Max’s [Verstappen] car [in qualifying]. Luckily we are here now (as race winners) [but] with the maximum hindsight it’s lucky the part broke yesterday because with 12 kilometres more, it would have broken during the laps to the grid. So we decided to change the whole power unit rather than trying to fix it there. And as a precaution, we also changed Checo’s [Sergio Perez] engine.”
Recapping the race, the 48-year-old was all-praise for his team for putting together a flawless performance at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP. He added, saying:
“It was a fantastic race today. Everyone put in a top performance. Max was exceptional, even adding a little spin to his race as if coming back from 10th wasn’t hard enough. Equally, Checo had a brilliant race and I believe if it hadn’t been for the VSC he would have podiumed. Strategy played a big part in our victory.”
Horner also mentioned that Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez were due to start on hard tires, but the team switched things around after reviewing the conditions. He said:
“We were due to start on the hard tyre but switched things up as a result of the ambient conditions. This win gives us a healthy lead going into the break but there are still areas to improve on. Ferrari are still quick, Mercedes are coming back as you saw today. There is plenty more still to come.”
It feels crazy to have won the race today!: Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen claimed to be in disbelief after winning the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP on Sunday. The Dutchman admitted to thinking that such a result was impossible considering a P10 start to the race and the nature of the Hungaroring track.
Speaking to the media post-race, the reigning world champion said:
“It feels crazy to have won the race today from P10, especially on a track like this where it’s very hard to pass. We made all the right calls today, there were some good undercuts and overall we did a great job today as a Team. This was definitely one of my best races, despite the little 360-degree spin! I’m very happy with the lead that we have, but of course we have to keep pushing and win more races.”
Max Verstappen now leads the drivers' championship by 80 points from rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
